This Dead World
by Anste'Dak
Summary: 18 year old Matthew starts his journey to survive in the apocalypse. He will go through many struggles and meet many people on the way, but the question remains. Will he make it?
1. Chapter 1: The New World

"I'm telling you, man! It's true!" Matthew takes a seat among the fire. "You believe any gossip you hear." Matthew sits around a campfire with his two other friends. He and his friends are on a weekend camping trip, much to Matthew's displeasure. The trees drip water off the leaves from a light shower that had rained earlier. It was late and very dark with nothing but the flame of the fire as a source of light. "No Matt, I swear, she really said that." His other friend sitting off at the side chuckles. "Greg, the last time you told Matt a girl liked him, he asked her out and she shut him down. I wouldn't trust you either." Greg waves his hand dismissively. "Ah, you don't know what you're talking about, Brad. I'm telling you, Matt, she practically spelled it out." Matt can't help but grin at his friend's unhealthy addiction to gossip. Gossip and drama run into the routes of high school. Matt and his friends are seniors, the school year has just started.

"Well, as much as I'm enjoying this chat, I think ima check in for the night. I'll see you both in the morning." Brad gets up and heads into his solo tent. He was always a loner, even among friends. Following his lead, Matt and Greg retreat into their shared tent and lay down to sleep. As they sleep Matt wakes up multiple times. He never had an easy time falling asleep, especially away from home. Just as he starts to fall back asleep, the front of the tent begins to rustle. Being startled from his peace, he sits up.

"Greg, I think an animal is at our tent." he says as he shakes Greg awake. Greg sits up and they both see the rustling continue. "You must be tired man, that's a person. Hold on Brad!" He shouts as he sits up to let Brad in. He unzips the opening from one side to the other and in a moment the night's peace is jolted. A deformed human figure leaps into the tent, making an unsettling noise as it lunges towards them. The two of them scream, scattering to crawl out of the tent. As Matt crawls towards the exit, Greg is pounced on. The creature rips into him with teeth of a beast as blood pours all over the tent floor. Matt stares on horror, seeing his friend devoured as he screams. He scurries out of the tent and enters the cold night atmosphere. Just as he does, Brad bolts out of his tent opposite side of where the fire had been burning.

"What's going on?!" Brad yells over as Greg's screams continue in the tent. Before Matt can muster an answer, two more of the deformed beings approach. "Run!" Matt yells, as he runs into the woods. He looks back momentarily to see the two things attacking Brad. Matt keeps running. He sprints throughout the dark, panting and sweating. Eventually he spots an opening and runs through the bushes. Expecting to see the regular view of his home city, he is astonished. His city has screams roaring through the air as small fires spread through the street. Matt stares, seemingly watching the whole world crumble around him. He can do nothing but yell. He does not know what he yells, but it's all he can do.

 **8 MONTHS LATER**

Matt opens his eyes, inviting the sight of sunlight. He slept in the woods for the second week in a row, shelter is rare. Besides, the woods are safer. The city is overrun. The breeze is considerably cold for Virginia, at least around this time of year. Matt sits up, rubbing his eyes. He draws out his revolver pistol, he was lucky enough to find one off a dead cop. People need forearms nowadays in order to survive. Walkers, there is no official term but "walkers" is one Matt has heard, are an extinction event. If the human race wants to survive, they will have to fight. Matt, however, has been alone since the start of this new world. Day by day he has nothing to do but survive. He stands up and stretches. After gathering his thoughts he sets out in his regular direction. His goal is only to find a safe place to stay. He wanders the woods, searching for anything to aid his survival when a sudden scream erupts from the distance. Is that...a woman? He charges off in the direction of the scream.

He bursts out of bushes to see a girl getting chased by two walkers. "Hey!" Matt yells out, getting the attention of both the girl and the walkers. The walkers turn around then come towards Matt, and he draws his pistol. He aims for their heads and fires twice. It's done. Two clean headshots is all it took. He approaches the girl with caution, she is very startled. "Hey, are you okay?" He inquires reaching out a hand. She shakes it. "Yes, thank you. Thanks so much." Matt observes her. She has blonde hair put into a ponytail and seems slightly intimidated. "Don't you have any sort of weapon?" She shakes her head. "No, I've just been very lucky." Matt is taken back. How could she have survived all this time without a weapon.

"So you haven't had any sort of protection?" She stands in silence for a moment before answering. "I never said that." She responds, not blinking. Matt finds it best to not pursue this topic. "What's your name?" She seems to lower her guard. "Amy, my name is Amy. What's yours?" Matt holsters his gun. "Matt, nice to meet you Amy. How old are you exactly?" She stands for moment, almost is if she had to remember. "18." Matt smiles. "So am I. I went to the high school in the city." Amy smiles at this revelation. " So did I. How come we never saw each other before?" Matt shrugs. "So, what's your plan?" Amy's smile shifts into a concerned look. "I truly don't know." Matt hesitates for a moment. Does he really want to say this? He's been alone for so long. "Well if you want to come with me, I'm just looking for a safe place." She slowly nods. "Okay. Thanks, I don't really have anywhere else to go." Matt nods before drawing his gun once again. He continues walking and Amy reluctantly follows behind. The two of them traverse further into the woods, not knowing where it will take them.


	2. Chapter 2: Settled

The sound of crushed leafs drill into Matt's ears as he and Amy traverse the woods. Shelter, he just needs to find shelter. Suddenly, just as he had started to lose hope, a wooden structure is barely visible through the trees. "There!" He points out. Amy seems just as surprised as he is to find shelter here. They walk out of the trees into an opening, revealing a cabin. It's a decent sized cabin, two floors. Cautiously, Matt walks up to the wooden door and opens it. He whispers in to make sure it's not preoccupied. When he receives no response, they goes in. Entering the main room, they see a couch set before a fireplace, and an entrance to a kitchen. "You wait here, I'm going to check the upstairs." He makes his way up the creaky wooden steps and finds himself upon two bedrooms. After a thorough search he determines this place is safe to stay for the night. It is in fact getting dark. He walks back down the stairs.

"Is it safe here?" Amy asks upon seeing his return. "Should be, at least for the night." They both sit on the couch in silence. There is nothing to say, but they are both fine with that. Matt jumps off the couch as if a lightbulb lit up in his head. He walks over to the fireplace and picks up a matchbook laying next to it on the floor. He strikes a match and sets the fireplace. He sits back on the couch. Amy turns to face him. "Do you miss life before?" Matt jumps at the sudden start of conversation. "Of course I do." Amy shifts uncomfortably. "The thing is, I know I'm not cut out for this type of thing. It's people like me who don't survive." Matt doesn't know what to say. "How'd you survive this long, then?" She sits silently for a moment before responding. "A man. I met him shortly after this all started. He took care of me, protected me. Though a couple days ago-" she paused. Matt waits for her to continue. "He was bitten a few nights ago, and he told me that I had to put him down when he turned. Only thing is, I couldn't. I just ran off and let him turn." She starts to get teary. Matt has no idea how to proceed from here. Thankfully, she picks back up. "And now, I'm dead. Just like all people like me." Silence engulfs the room. After letting out a sigh, Matt finally speaks up, facing the fire.

"You won't die." She turns to him. "How can you be sure?" Matt continues looking into the fire. "I'll make sure of it." She looks at him surprised. "Oh." She says. Silence, once again. Matt turns to face her. "Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Matthew Smith." He holds out his hand. Reluctantly, she shakes it, smiling. "I'm Amy Garner." After more silence, Matt stands up. "I'm going to go see what I can find in the kitchen." He walks into the kitchen and begins searching in the cupboards. Luckily, he finds some canned food. While reading the labels, he hears music and what he thinks is humming. He enters the living room to see Amy has discovered a piano and is playing it,humming to her song. For a moment, he does nothing but stand, listening. She is surprisingly good. He waits for a break in the music to speak. "That's real nice, had no clue you could sing." She shrugs coyly. "My friend at school gave my lessons. "Well you're real good at it." She smiles. "Thanks." He points to the kitchen behind him. "I found some food, let's go eat."

She follows him into the kitchen and they take a seat at the table. They begin eating out of the canned foods but slowly, for preservation. Matt thinks to himself momentarily. "You know what? Maybe this is a place we can stay. It's safe, it's hidden. Also there's that river nearby we crossed for fishing. I think we can make it work." Amy smiles and nods. "That sounds pretty good." Before long they finish eating. "Well, there are a couple bedrooms upstairs, I suppose it's time to get some sleep." Amy's eyes widen with joy. "There are actual beds?!" Matt chuckles. He leads her up upstairs and opens a door, presenting the room with his arm. "You can sleep here, I'll sleep across the hall." Before Matt can walk off Amy tells him to wait. She steps forward and hugs him. "Thank you for everything, and goodnight." Taken back by this sudden act, Matt stands in silence. When Amy let's go, he says goodnight as well. They go their separate ways and soon both of them fall into deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Reel It In

The dawn light shines through the window, waking Matt up. It has been two days since they found the cabin and they have had no complications. Maybe they really can stay here? Shortly after waking up and sitting in the kitchen, Amy wakes up too. "Morning." He says to her. She responds in a yawn. "I was thinking this morning we could go down to the river and try fishing. If we're gonna stay here we should probably get used to doing that." She nods, it's very obvious she's too tired to disagree. After taking some time to wake up the two of them grab a couple fishing poles they found in the closet and head out towards the river. After a ten minute walk through the woods they finally arrive at the river. They find a big rock to sit on and after preparing toss in their lines. "And now we play the waiting game." He looks over at Amy, the early sunlight reflecting off her blond hair and her ponytail blows a little in the wind. "You getting anything?" She shakes her head no and before she can respond she's cut off by a roaring shot in the woods. They jolt up and Matt draws his gun. Then again, a string of gunshots coming deep from the woods. "Who is that?" Amy questions in a frenzy. Matt keeps his eyes trained in the direction of the shots. They stand in silence for moments. The trees rustle from animals scurrying away from the shots. Then the silence is broken. Two walkers come out of the trees and heading straight for Matt and Amy. "Shit! Those shots drew walkers our way!" Then, more pour out. "They're blocking the way back to the cabin!" Amy yells out. Matt begins firing shots at the walkers. He soon realizes it's futile. He grabs Amy's arm. "Come on!" He pulls her around a large clump of walkers and they go further into the woods, away from the cabin. They run for minutes and still walkers are after them. Finally, they come across a large shed. "In there!" The two of them charge into the shed and Matt shuts the door behind them. He leans against it with all his strength as walkers try to pry through. "I'm slipping!" Matt yells out. A walker's hand makes it through the crack. Matt takes out his knife and stabs it. As more hands reach through he continues stabbing them.


	4. Chapter 4: New Faces

The walkers were roaring through the shed door, with the clear intent of having a meal. "They're getting through!" Amy yells out in a panic. Matt struggles hard with the door, pushing his back against it, his feet sliding forward trying to keep the door closed. "Amy! I'm going to let go of the door!" Amy stands in shock. "What?!"

"I can't keep this held shut forever, get ready to fight!" He jumps forward, drawing his gun. A swarm of walkers begin pouring into the shed as he pops off shots. Amy runs to the back of the shed to avoid the walkers. Matt kills a few before he realizes there is too many. "No chance, need to make a break for it!" He reaches back and grabs Amy's arm. He pushes through the crowd of zombies, head down, and the two of them come out the other side. They are extremely lucky to be alive. They run back to the cabin. They stop running once they reach the door. "You okay?" Matt asks, panting. Amy nods, also breathing heavily. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Matt opens the door to the cabin and instantly hears chatter. He draws his gun to see a group of at least six people sitting in the living room. As he points the gun at them, one man stands up holding his hands in the air. "Hey, hey!" He tries to reassure Matt. "Who the hell are you people and what are you doing here?!" The man is quick to respond. "We're sorry! We were running from walkers and we saw this place, we didn't think anyone lived here. But we're cool, you can lower the gun." Before Matt can respond, he notices a woman laying on the couch, she's pregnant. He lowers his gun. The man lowers his hands.

"I'm Lucas. That man in the blue baseball cap is my brother, Mike. That man in the buttoned shirt is Willis, and that's his 12 year old son Tanner. And the pregnant woman with her husband, that's Alyssa and Beck." The group all give a slow nod as a sign of hello. "I'm Matt." Amy steps forward smiling. "And I'm Amy." The man's brother, Mike, steps forward. "As much as I enjoy roll call, we need to get the fuck outta here, we can't stop now." Mike has a stubble and a somewhat angry look to him. Lucas turns to Matt. "He's right, we really should keep moving." Matt grows curious. "Why?" Lucas stands, silently thinking to himself. "We're running from a bad group of people. We were forced to give this group half of our supplies but we got tired of the threats. We figured we'd try running." Matt steps forward. "And how'd that work out for ya?" The pregnant woman's husband, Beck, speaks up. "Now our situation is even worse. They're hunting us, and if they catch us we'll be treated like slaves at their compound."

"As you can imagine, these people aren't real friendly." Mike steps in. Lucas turns to Matt. "To be 100% honest, you two should come with us. Now that we've stopped here those people will be here, and you'll be forced to kick up to the man in charge." Matt stands firm. "No, we're not leaving this place." Lucas frowns. "You'll never feel freedom again." Amy tugs on Matt's shoulder and they walk to a corner of the room. "Look, what they're saying makes sense. I don't want to be a slave, maybe we should go with them." Matt puts his hands on his hips. "We have a good thing going here, you really want to leave?" Amy steps forward. "No, but I do know there is strength in numbers." Matt stands silently for many seconds. He turns around and walks back to Lucas. "Okay. But you owe us for messing up our plan." Lucas gives a half smile. "I can't promise you won't regret it, but it's the thought that counts." Everyone packs their bags and before long Matt and Amy are back on the trail, but this time with new people.


	5. Chapter 5: 3 Days Later

Birds chirped as early morning turned noon. The eight people all walking in the form of a herd. They have been walking towards the mountains for about an hour now. Matt walks up to the man and his son, Willis and Tanner. "So who exactly are these people we're running from?" Willis ushers his son to go ahead of him as he slows his pace to talk. "A group of people that call themselves 'The Saviors'. They are run by a terrifying man named Negan. It's easy to tell their group is relatively new but that doesn't change the fact they are dangerous." Matt takes in this new information. "Why didn't you stand and fight?" Willis shakes his head. "We only have two guns between the six of us, Lucas and Mike carry. The Saviors have a huge stockpile of weapons...And there was another one of us." Matt turns to him as he walks silently.

"His name was Raul. During our first run-in with Negan he killed him, smashed his head with a bat. He said he had to "make a point". Negan is an evil man and if we fought, and we lost, he would kill more. The same thing will happen if he catches up to us. He will kill someone else and just bring us back." Willis seems like a wise man. He is bald but wears slight facial hair and is easily the tallest in the group. Matt looks down. "Sounds like a man who needs to be stopped." Willis nods and they continue the walk in silence.

 **3 Days Later**

The eight of them continue their walk for days. They come across a lake. "Come on, we have to go around." Willis declares. "No. Going around will take too long. Look, there's a rowboat down there. We can row across." Lucas points to the boat. Alyssa attempts to stand up, but is exhausted from walking due to her pregnancy. She manages to speak. "You really think that's safe?" Lucas turns to her. "Well no, but we can't take time to slow down, Negan's men will catch up to us if we take a detour." Willis crosses his arms. "And who do you suggest goes across?" It's obvious not everyone can fit on the boat at the same time. "I'll go, and I'll take Matt with me." Lucas says pointing at Matt. Matt is taken back by his sudden declaration. Why him? Amy steps forward. "No, it's too dangerous." Matt turns to her. "Don't worry, we'll go quick." Amy makes a face of concern as Lucas makes a face of delight. "Great, let's go."

The two of them walk over to the side of the lake, hop in the boat, and begin rowing. "The reason I chose you is cause I figured we should get to know each other a little, considering we've been traveling together for three days now AND I sorta forced you out of your home." Matt nods. "That you did." Lucas shakes his head. "You know, I didn't want to lead this group. We had another man in charge, but he's dead now." Matt looks at him. "Raul?" Lucas looks in shock at the mention of his name. "You were told the story, huh? Yeah, he was our leader, and damn good at it. But when he died I was next in line to take charge. Leadership kinda fell to me. Half the time, I don't know what I'm doing honestly." Matt sits, silently rowing.

"So who's the girl? Your girlfriend or something?" Matt jumps. "No! I just met her after it all and we've been making it together" Lucas can't help but grin at Matt's reaction. "Oh, my bad." Lucas starts saying something else but is interrupted by a shaking of the boat. "What was that? We hit something?" Before Matt can respond, a walker leaps from the water. It's hand reaches over and grabs the side of the boat. "Shit, we've got swimmers!" Lucas grabs the Ak-47 off his back and Matt draws his pistol. Two more walkers pop up from the lake. Matt fires at a walkers hand that grabbed the boat and it falls back into the water. Lucas mows down the other two and they fall back under as well. "Well, just another day at the off-" Lucas gets cut off.

The walkers Matt shot off the boat reaches up and grabs Lucas' shoulder. He screams. Matt points his gun forward and fires. The walkers let's go of Lucas and falls back under. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Lucas speaks. "Thank you." Matt nods. The two of them reach the other side of the lake and Lucas rows back for the others. After a few trips back and forth, everyone is across. They walk up a hill and immediately come across a dock shed. Beck walks forward. "I'll scavenge it." Everyone else sits down and waits. Matt decides to join Beck in searching the shed. He enters.

"Oh, hey Matt." Beck says upon seeing him. The blinding light shines through the window. To break the silence while searching, Matt attempts a start at conversation. "So, how's Alyssa doing?" Beck answers while placing cans in his pack. "She's good. The baby is almost here, but we'll cross that road when we get to it." Matt nods and turn back to searching. "I had a nice talk with Amy, she seems a real nice girl." Matt nods again. "Yeah, she is." After they finish looking around they step outside, and the group continues down the trail.


	6. Chapter 6: Old Faces

The full moon glistened in the night sky. The group continues their journey through the trees. "Wait, hold up." Lucas shouted putting up his hand. "There's a building up ahead." Mike steps forward eagerly. "What is it?" Lucas studies it before answering. "Looks like a church. Let's go check it out, but slowly." The group slowly moved forward towards the church. Matt notices how Amy walks behind him. The second Lucas reaches the doors, they burst open. "Freeze! Drop your guns." A man charges out pointing a rifle at the group. The ones who are carrying guns drop them. "Who the hell are you people?" That voice is familiar to Matt. Could it be…?

"Brad?" He asks as he looks upon the face of his long lost friend. Brad's eyes widen and he slowly lowers his gun. "Matt?" His gun drops to his side as he slowly approaches him. Matt takes initiative and runs up, bringing him into a hug. "I thought you were dead, man. I thought you and Greg were both dead." Brad backs up. "I certainly wasn't expecting to see you again." He looks upon his group. "These your friends?" Matt nods, are they really? "Yeah, they are." Brad waves coyly at them. He still seems as much a loner as he was in school. "Come inside. Some people you gotta meet." Brad turns around and opens the doors to the church. They walk inside. There are two others in the church, one man and a girl, roughly the same age as Matt and Brad. "Matt, this is Frank and Tracy. Guys, this is Matt. I knew him before all this." Matt nods as Frank smiles and Tracy waves. "I gotta do a quick perimeter check, you all get settled in, there's not much space but it's enough. Frank, get started with dinner. I'll be right back." Brad picks up his gun and heads out the door. He may be a loner but it seems he's become quite the leader.

"You knew this Brad guy?" Amy asks. "Yeah, we went to school together. I trust him." Matt looks around and sees the Frank guy making dinner. "Why don't you take a seat, I'll be right back." Matt walks up to Frank and nods. "Ah, hello. Nice to officially meet. Matt, right?" "Yeah, Frank right?" He smiles and nods. "Just making some soup, it's all we got right now." Matt feels his stomach rumble. "Well I'm sure it's good, I'm gonna take a look around." Frank nods and Matt departs. He sees Beck and Alyssa sitting and decides to check on them. "Oh, hello Matt." Beck says upon seeing him. "Hey. How you doing Alyssa?" Matt asks. She smiles. "Fine, thank you. Just hungry." Beck pulls out a bottle of water. "NOT thirsty." She stresses. Beck looks at Matt. "Here, have a drink." Matt shakes his head. "No, I'm fine." Beck smiles. "Come on, you're one of us now. We don't need you dehydrated." Matt hesitates, but accepts it. He thanks him for the drink and continues walking. He notices that girl, Tracy, and decides to meet her.

"Hey. You're Tracy right?" She nods. "Yep. It's great having new people here. You think you are all gonna stay permanently?" Matt shrugs. "Maybe. We're trying to hide from a group of people." Tracy looks concerned, but tries to hide it. "Well hopefully that's all over now." Matt and her talk some more then he takes a seat, waiting for dinner. Eventually, the dinner bell rings. "Soups on!" Frank shouts out. Everyone runs up and grabs a bowl before returning to their seat. As Matt sits down he notices Ally is talking to Tracy. Then, Lucas, Mike, and Willis and his son sit near Matt. "We shouldn't be stopped here. We gotta keep moving, we fell behind on time." Lucas says, trying hard to mask his nerves. "I agree. That Brad guy seems a little fishy to me anyway" Mike says taking a stance. Matt darts a look his way. "Brad is my friend. I trust him with my life." Mike leans forward. "He was your friend months ago. Who knows who he is now." Those words ring through Matt's head. "Well I for one think it's good we are taking time to rest." Willis says, rubbing Tanner's head. "Dad, is there anymore soup?" Tanner asks. "Check with Frank." Tanner gets up and heads back towards Frank. "My son is getting weak. We can't keep pushing ourselves this hard. We need moments like this." Lucas starts to say something, but decides to stay quiet. Brad comes through the door and picks up a bowl. "Soup...again." He says in an obviously sarcastic joyful tone. Frank steps towards the front doors. "Anyone done eating? I could use a hand." Matt being finished volunteers. He wipes his mouth using his sleeve and follows Frank outside.

"Whatcha need help with?" Matt asks as they walk to a shed. "Got some guns I want to bring inside. I don't know who's idea it was to leave our backup weapons in the shed, but it was a bad one." He pulls out a key from his pocket and unlocks the shed door. The lock makes a loud click as it slides off the door's handle. He opens the shed and inside are four rifles and two handguns. "You guys are quite stocked." Frank nods, loading the guns in a basket he brought. "We had plenty of time to scavenge." Matt helps him load the weapons. "So how'd you all meet?" Frank looks up as if to think back. "I found Tracy a few weeks after all this, then we came across Brad in the woods. He's really stepped up, we couldn't have made it this far without him." Matt feels somewhat prideful in his friend. "So you think this is going to end?" Matt is taken back. "What?" Frank smiles. "This whole thing. You think it's gonna end?" Matt considers the question. "How can it? The world is ending." Frank shakes his head, still smiling. "Nah, the world isn't over. The world ends the moment you lose faith." Matt thinks on this. "Come on, let's head back in." He follows Frank back inside.


	7. Chapter 7: The Holy Hell

Matt and Frank walk back into the church. He sees Amy sitting by herself and decides to join her. "Hey. How you doing?" Matt's question startled her. "Oh, hey. I'm good." Matt sits down and then looks up at Amy's troubled expression. "I was... Just thinking about that man I was with before." She looks at her feet. "It really bothers you, huh?" She nods. He puts his hand on her shoulder and they sit in silence for a moment. Then the silence is shattered. "What the- Walkers!" Mike yells out. Lucas picks up his AK-47 and Brad and Frank pick up their carbine rifles. The four of them bust through the doors and open fire on the giant herd of walkers. Willis comforts his son before joining the firefight. Tracy and Beck draw handguns from the basket Frank brought in. Matt turns to Amy. "Stay in here! I'll be right back!" Before Matt can run to the doors Amy grabs his arm. "No, don't go out there! What if you get bit?!" He pulls himself from her grasp. "I'll be fine, I promise!" He charges out the door with a carbine he picked up. The group stands in a long line, spraying bullets into the crowd of incoming walkers. The sound of loud shots ring through the air. Walkers are mowed down one after another.

"I'm running low on ammo!" Mike yells out. "Look out, to our left!" Yells Tracy. It's chaos. Matt fires in all incoming directions. He turns to his right and a walker pounces on him. He falls to the ground and struggles. "Matt!" Brad yells out running up to the walker with a knife. Before he can stab it, a bullet flies from the church and kills the walker. Amy stands there holding a handgun in the door. Matt stands up and nods, smiling. Then suddenly, bullets fly from the trees. The back half of the herd falls. The group lowers their weapons in confusion. Soon enough, the entire herd was dispersed. Then, amiding from the trees comes a large group of people, all of which are holding guns. In the center stands a man wearing a black leather jacket. "Damn…" whispers Lucas. The man in the leather jacket pulls from behind him a bat wrapped with barbed wire. The large group of men surround the group. The man walks right in front of Lucas and opens his mouth to speak. "Hi friend. Long time no see." He slowly smiles a devilish grin. Lucas stares him down. "Fuck you, Negan." He shakes his head. "Is that anyway to greet your old buddy?!" He signals his men. "I want all of y'all inside, it's too cold for this shit." The group slowly is forced into the church and are rounded up along with the people who remained inside. Tanner starts to cry. A man with a mustache approaches him.

"Now now kid, lighten up." The entire group along with all the saviors are now inside. "Alright, now why don't everyone get on their knees." Hesitantly, everyone follows this order and gets on their knees in one big line. Amy kneels on the opposite side of the line as Matt. She shakes of fear, Matt can only watch. "Now I see some new faces among the crowd so let me bring y'all up to speed. I'm Negan. You few fresh faces have buddied up with the wrong group, cause now, now you work for me. Now I'm not sure for how long you've been associated with these folks, but everyone is fair game in this line." Matt looks along the line. Brad and Lucas are staring at him angrily, Mike is staring at the ground clenching his teeth. Beck is whispering to Alyssa, trying to comfort her. "You see, these folks worked for me, I trusted them. Then they decided we weren't good enough and ran away. Killing some of my people in the process, might I add." His pacing stops in front of Lucas. "You weren't slaves. You all had more benefits than others, and yet you weren't happy. So now I'm gonna bring you all to the compound and I'll show you what slavery is like." He continues walking back and forth along the line up.

"However, you put us through hell, you broke the rules, and for THAT, for that you're gonna pay. It doesn't matter if a whole lot of you are new, you're in this now, and now…" he pauses. "I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you." His devilish grin spreads across his face once again. He drops his bat to his side and dangles it. "Some of you are already acquainted with Lucille. For those of you who aren't, she's a thirsty girl. One of y'all is gonna get the honor of meeting her real close and personal." Matt's heart is pounding out of his chest. Amy is shaking unbelievably and is tearing up. Alyssa is crying now as is Tanner. Tracy and Frank sit in amazement with the situation. Negan walks to the end of the line and stops in front of Amy. He crouches down in front of her.

"Hell girl, there's no need to be so scared. Unless you get picked to meet Lucille, then obviously you'll be pissin' your pants, but until then relax." Matt watched in anger. "If you make it through this, I'm sure we can find a way to make you useful." Negan rubs her cheek with his hand as she flinches. "Leave her be!" Matt yells out. Negan stands up quickly and turns to Matt. "Whoah! We got ourselves a rebel! What's the matter kid? There some sorta thing going on between you and blondie?" Amy's eyes are wide with fear as Matt stares Negan dead in the eyes. "Oh I see it now." Negan smiles before turning back to the group. "Now, don't any of you ever do what he just did again, I will shut that shit down!" He begins slowly pacing again. He stops in front of Alyssa. "You've grown since last time we've met. Can't wait to have the little zombie slayer around!" He stands tall. "Now. Time for the pickings." He walks and looks around. Seconds go by as Negan observes his prey. "Can't wait for this shit" one of his men whispers. "Simon! Watch your mouth in front of the Lord!" He says pointing his bat at the statue of Jesus Christ. "My apologies." After a few more seconds go by Negan faces the other way. "I simply cannot decide." His head slowly lifts up and he turns back around. "I've got an idea." He slowly walks up to Lucas and places the bat in front of him.

"Eenie." Lucas' face shrinks as he realizes what's going down. Pressure is filling the room. Negan walks along the line. "Catch, a tiger, by, it's toe." The bat falls before Brad, Mike, Tracy, Frank, Willis, Tanner, Amy, Matt, Alyssa, Beck. "the very, best, one." The bat passes the starting point of Lucas again. "And you." Tanner cries loudly. "Are." Amy shivers uncontrollably. Matt can't help but squirm under the tension. Finally. It's done. Lucille lands in front of it's victim. "It." Whimpers raise from the lineup, especially the people next to the victim. "Anybody move I'll cut the little boy's eye out. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry." Silence. "Hell you're all gonna be doing that." The blow lands. "Oh, stop you're screaming!" The blows continuously land. Then, it's over.


	8. Chapter 8: Brand New Beginning

"I simply cannot decide." His head slowly lifts up and he turns back around. "I've got an idea." He slowly walks up to Lucas and places the bat in front of him. "Eenie." Lucas' face shrinks as he realizes what's going down. Pressure is filling the room. Negan walks along the line. "Catch, a tiger, by, it's toe." The bat falls before Brad, Mike, Tracy, Frank, Willis, Tanner, Amy, Matt, Alyssa, Beck. "the very, best, one." The bat passes the starting point of Lucas again. "And you." Tanner cries loudly. "Are." Amy shivers uncontrollably. Matt can't help but squirm under the tension. Finally. It's done. Lucille lands in front of it's victim.

"It." Frank. Whimpers raise from the lineup, especially the people next to the victim. "Anybody move I'll cut the little boy's eye out. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry." Silence. "Hell you're all gonna be doing that." Frank stares up into the eyes of his executioner. "Hell, you're all gonna be doing that." The blow lands. His head caves in, blood flows. His shriek screams fill the air. "Oh stop your screaming!" The blows continuously land. Brain matter splatters on the ground. Tears are shed. The last ram hits. He drags his bloody bat from the smashed skull of Frank. "Did you hear that guy? What a screamer." He hits it one more time then drags it through the blood. "He may not have been part of the original rule breakers, but associates are just as bad the first time around. Now, everyone take a look." He drops the bat in front of everyone. "Take a damn look!" Brad shouts and leaps upward, punching Negan. Two of the saviors grab Brad and restrain him on the ground. Negan stands tall smiling. "Nope, get him back in line." They drag Brad back into line. "Now I already told y'all, don't any of you ever do that. Then what does this guy do?" Everyone sits in fear once again. "I need you all to trust me." He lifts up his bat and holds I with both hands. "So… back to it." He turns and rams the bat down. "NOOOO!" Screams Alyssa. Beck falls into the floor. Negan hits him again then lets him sit up.

"Beck old buddy, you still there? Can you even speak?" Alyssa cries as hard as she can muster. "You were always too soft. I understand you got a baby on the way but if I had to make an example, you know it had to be you." Matt stares in shock and anger as a future child's caring father is lost. Beck makes sounds, trying to muster words with a shattered brain. "Ow...Our ba-baby." He says before drooling, cutting off his sentence. Brad sits devastated having caused this. "I know this is hard on y'all. But I said I would shut it down!" He continuously hits Beck until he resembles what's left of Frank. Alyssa is broken. Negan smiles. "Alright. As fun as this night was, all good things must come to an end. Load em' up!" The saviors grab everyone and drag them into two separate trucks. In the first truck, Matt, Brad, Amy, Mike, and Willis. The second, Lucas, Alyssa, Tracy, and Tanner. The doors slam shut and the drive to Negan's compound begins.

-The next day-

Nobody slept that night. They just sat in silence. It was now morning. Matt and Amy sit by each other leaning against the wall. Brad breaks the silence. "There's gotta be something we can do. These saviors ain't shit." Willis sighs. "Just shut up." Brad stares at him. "I refuse to just sit here and let us get taken like this." Willis scoffs. "There's nothing you can do, now just shut up." Brad sits up. "I'm trying to help!" Mike yells out. "Like you helped our friend, Beck?!" Silence. Brad quickly looks at Mike then Willis. "Oh, is that what this is?" Silence again. This time it stays silent. Amy is still shaking, Matt can feel it. Then a loud bang is heard outside the truck, then the truck stops. They're here. The door slides open, and people from both trucks walk out. Alyssa is barely moving. Negan hops out of the driver's seat.

"Welcome back home, or for those of you who are new, welcome to your NEW home!" He walks up to Lucas. "Now you'll get to feel like a slave." They herd them down a walkway. They can see two other people being forced to work, a man and a woman. It seems like this place hasn't been around for very long. They walk into a building. Negan then grabs Amy by the shoulders. "Simon, take this young lady down with the other girls. She'll fit in nicely. I don't usually go for the younger ones, but there's something special about her." He says patting her, looking at Matt. "Wait, where are you taking her?" Negan smiles bright.

"Why, with all my other wives." Amy's eyes widen. "You piece of shit!" Matt yells out before one of his men punches him and holds him back. Simon grabs Amy by the arm. "What about the other girl, Tracy?" Negan looks at her. "We need another girl worker. Just so Haley doesn't get lonely. Alyssa will sleep in the pen with the rest of them, but she doesn't have to work. I wouldn't feel comfortable sentencing a pregnant woman to hard labor." Simon nods and walks off with Amy. Matt and her lock eyes as she's pulled around a corner and out of sight. "Take em' to the pen. They'll start work tomorrow. Welcome to a brand new beginning, you sorry shits!" The group is forcefully moved down a hall which leads to a big room with small beds spread throughout. They are all shoved in and the door slams, locking them all in. Lucas speaks out. "Well...Shit."


	9. Chapter 9: Building The New World

The door slams shut, locking them in. "Well...Shit." There are two others already in the room, probably the two people they saw working. One is a light black skinned man and a short haired woman. The man steps forward. "Lucas, I take it the escape didn't go well." Lucas can't even muster a smile. The man looks around. "Where's Beck?" Silence. His face shrinks. "Shit." Lucas turns around. "For those of you unaware, this is Jacob. The woman back there is Haley. They were here when we worked for Negan." Matt looks towards the woman in the back, she seems very distant but approaches them. "Ever since you guys left, shit's hit the fan. They're working us harder than ever before. Only the people with the higher ranks get any respect around here." Haley says. Lucas looks down. "I'm sorry." Silence. Lucas picks back up. "Everyone go to sleep. They are gonna work us hard tomorrow, but it's better than working for points." Matt sees Brad lay on a bed and approaches him. "Hey man. How you doing?" Brad frowns. "This is bullshit, man. We need to kill this guy." Matt decides to leave it at that and go to bed. He picks an open one, next to Mike. "Hey." Mike whispers. "I just wanted to let you know that I think we will get out of this place. I know it's our fault you're here, but stick with us and you'll get out." Matt sits up and looks at him. "Mike, you got it all wrong. There is no you all and me, there's only us. We're in this together, and I don't blame anyone." Mike smiles, probably for the first time in a long time. "Damn right." Matt smiles back. "Alright, get some sleep, kid." Matt rolls over and allows sleep to take him.

"Matt, wake up." Matt's jerked awake by Mike. "He's here." The door slides open and Negan approaches with Simon and a heavy set guy. "Morning everyone! Ready to work?" No answer. "Not like you all have a choice. You see, this location is relatively new, so we need workers such as yourselves to build this place up and get it working. You'll be rewarded with good behavior and maybe some of you will even be invited to join the higher ranks. Well, except those of you that had to be dragged back here." He looks at Lucas. "Alright, everyone go to your assignments, Alyssa and Tanner can stay here. Move out!" They all separate towards the areas of the compound they were assigned to. Matt, Lucas, and Willis all end up going one way. Suddenly, a large group of women come walking around the corner, they almost collide. These women are all wearing long black dresses. Matt scans the group and lays his eyes upon a familiar face. "Amy!" He shoved his way through and places his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" For a moment, a smile glistens. Then it evaporates. "No." Her voice breaks as she nervously chuckles. Matt stares at her worriedly. Meanwhile, Lucas approaches one of the women. "Ashley?" The girl looks at him. "Lucas...you're back." Lucas stares at her. "What are you doing with these women?" She pauses. "After you escaped, he placed me here." Lucas brings her into a hug. "I'm so sorry." Matt levels his face with Amy's.

"What did he do to you?" He asks. "I... I don't want you to…" she stops. Matt's heart drops. Then, Simon walks up. "Alright, get moving all of you!" The women scatter. Matt and Lucas watch as they walk away. Matt keeps walking and ends up in the food bank with Willis. One of Negan's men sits in a chair. "You both have to take the food out if the bins and sort them onto the shelves. Get moving!" The work begins. The two of them sort food for almost an hour. "Kill me now." He hears Willis say under his breath. Finally, it's time to stop. "Alright, both of you move to your next assignment." Matt walks down hallways and eventually ends up outside. He ends up with Brad and Jacob to do some fence building. Upon being ordered, they get to work. After a few minutes, Brad drops his materials. The guard walks up. "What's your problem?" Brad turns to him. "I'm done working, I ain't lifting a finger more for you people." Matt fears what will become of his friend. The guard shoves him, causing him to fall into a bucket of nails. One goes into his back, causing him to scream. "Get back to work, or you're done for!" Brad hesitantly picks back up his hammer. He flinches upon moving his back. Another guard approaches and whispers something in their guard's ear. He calls out.

"Matthew! Negan has requested your presence." Matt stands in shock. Brad looks at him quickly. "Move! Go to Negan, now!" Matt runs off to Negan's room. He arrives at the door and freezes. Eventually, he knocks. "One second please!" He stands in wait for a few seconds. Suddenly, the door bursts open. A girl walks out, looking down at the ground. Negan walks into the doorway. "Sorry, I thought I'd be done screwing Ashley by time you got up here. Please, come in. I can finish with her later." Matt tries hard to hide his disgust and enters the room. Negan ushers him to a seat and sits opposite of him. "I called you up here, because two nights ago you stood out to me. The way you reacted, the way you moved, your look, it interested me." He points at him. "You move like a leader. You should be leading your people, not Lucas. What a little bitch…" Matt stares.

"Is that all you called me up for?" Negan smiles. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not a bad guy. We do what we do for the good of the world. One day, you will understand that. I know you will. Oh, and by the way, Amy is a very good girl-no, woman. I like her." Matt clenches his fist down beside the chair. "Alright, that's it. I'm introducing myself personally to all the new faces, like you. I'll be watching you, I look forward to seeing what you do. Now head back to work." Matt stands up and slowly walks out. He goes on his way back to work. Crickets can be heard chirping as the day turns night. All of them are lead back to their room. Alyssa sits up upon seeing their return. The door slams shut. Willis is the first to speak. "So, this is our new life?"


	10. Chapter 10: Ironed Out

Absolutely no one is talking. The room is dead. Everyone is sitting on their beds just staring their thoughts down. Suddenly, someone walks up to the gate. "Lucas?" Someone whispers. It's the girl he was talking to. He jumps out if his bed and runs up to her. "Ash, what are you doing here?" She takes a deep breath. "I snuck off, I just needed to see you." They talk for a few minutes and then she leaves. As Lucas walks back to his bed, Matt asks him a question. "Who is she to you?" He sits on his bed then faces Matt. "Her and I were both saviors. We got a lot of assignments together and grew close. We, uh, got REALLY close." Matt takes the hint. "When all of us decided to run, she was trapped and got caught. I wanted to go back, but Willis convinced me to keep going. It was the right call but I've always felt guilty. Now I learned she was placed in the group of Negan's wives, probably as punishment." Lucas fidgets nervously.

"Don't worry, we'll take her with us this time when we break out." Lucas smiles. "I sure hope so." They both roll over and go to sleep. The sun rises once again and everyone heads to their posts. After completing food duty and helping with the walls, Matt starts to head to his third assignment which he never got to the day before. As he is walking, something reaches out from his left. He gets pulled behind a dumpster. It's Lucas. "Matt! I've got an idea to get out of here." Matt's eyes widen. "Really? What is it?!" Lucas scans to make sure the area is safe. "On the way to my second assignment, I passed a safe full of keys. Someone punched in the code, and I saw it! We just need some help getting out of our room tonight, and get to that safe." Matt looks curious. "Who can help us?" Lucas grins. "Let me worry about that." Before long, night rolls around. Lucas has filled everyone else in on the plan. "But what if you get caught, you saw what he did to...To Beck." Alyssa says. "How do you even know which key to grab?" Asks Tracy. "It'll be easy to tell once we see them, we just need to get there. Just then, seemingly on cue, they can hear the latch to the door unlock. Lucas grabs Matt by the shoulder.

"Time to go!" The two of them sneak out and quietly sprint down the hall. Lucas grabs the handle to the safe room. "You ready?" Matt nods. Lucas opens the door and runs directly to the safe. Thankfully, the guard must be in bed. The safe door flies open and Lucas examines the keys. His eyes skim over them until they stop. He grabs a key. "Alright, move back." They sprint back towards the room. Footsteps can be heard coming their way, so they pick up the pace. They leap back into the room and shut the door. Brad stands up. "Well?" Lucas holds up the key, smiling. "We'll make our move tomorrow night. Everyone lays back in their beds, but Matt can hardly wait. The anticipation is too much. He barely drifts to sleep. A loud bang erupts from the door, waking everybody up. Negan comes charging in. He walks up to Lucas' bed and grabs him by the arm, dragging him towards the door.

"Everyone, come with me!" Fearfully, they all follow him. They end up in a large room surrounded by a perch above them and furnaces. It seems everybody in the compound is here. As Matt enters, he sees Amy in the group of women. They make eye contact, and stay this way until Negan begins to speak. "So!" He yells out, pushing Lucas into a chair. "Whatever your plan is, it's over. You can kiss escape goodbye!" Lucas chuckles nervously. "What plan? We haven't done anything." Negan stares at him. "Well, that's not what a little birdie told me." Lucas' eyes widen. Negan forcefully shoves his hand down Lucas' pocket and pulls out the key.

"Now let me make this clear to your group, and everyone else. There is no leaving simply. There is nothing for you out there. I need to make you all understand this." Jacob looks away and Haley watches without blinking. They must be familiar with what's about to happen. Negan walks over to the furnace and pulls out an iron. Lucas' jaw drops. "No!" Ashley yells out. "Be quiet, my dear!" Negan steps in front of Lucas. "Everyone, take this in once again." He firmly plants the iron on the side of his face. He screams loudly, nonstop. The group watches in horror. Matt looks at Amy, she's looking away breathing heavily. After seemingly forever, he removes the iron, a string of skin comes with it. A portion of his facial hair has singed off. Lucas pants heavily, the side of his face is majorly distorted. Ashley is sobbing. "I hope y'all learned your lesson. Willis has basic medical skills, you'll be fine. Take them back!" His men drag the group back to their room, Lucas literally, and close the door. Now they feel a familiar feeling, hopelessness.


	11. Chapter 11: Among The Dead

It is now night once more. Everyone is sitting in the center of the room discussing what to do next. Willis helps Lucas walk over to join the rest of them. "How you doing, man?" asks Mike. Lucas looks at him. "Not too shabby, baby brother." Mike frowns. "I hate when you call me that, I'm only two years younger." Lucas grins. So what are we going to do now?" Asks Tracy. "Well, yesterday when I asked Ashley to unlock the door, I asked her to do it tonight too, in case we needed to try again. She's still going to do that, so at the very least we have a way out of this room." Brad yells out. "We just need the hell out. Who knows what Negan is gonna do next." Jacob speaks up. "You know what we could do? When Ashley unlocks the door, one of us could run to the stereos, they have a few of them in the storage closet, and hook it up to the compound speakers. Blaring music loudly would draw walkers, distracting the saviors, giving us time to find a way out." Willis crosses his arms. "That sounds dangerous. I don't know if I want to bring my son through that." Jacob scoffs. "Dangerous? You see what Negan just did to him? We need to leave before something worse happens." Lucas nods. "I actually agree with that plan. I can make a run for the stereo." Willis looks at him. "You sure you're up for that?" Lucas stands up. "Damn right, I am." Matt stands up to. "And while you guys figure out our escape route, I'll run to the women's room and get Amy." Lucas nods. "We have our plan then." Everyone sits on their beds, waiting. Then, the sound of the door hatch.

"Go!" Lucas commands. He runs off toward the stereos, the others look around for a possible exit. Haley points. "There, we can go through that panel. It's nailed down, but it's covering a gap in the wall." Matt nods and then runs off. He sneaks down a hallway, and just before he reaches the women's room, he runs into a guard. He has to think quick. "Hey, what're-" Matt picks up a piece of sharp wood and rams it into his throat. Blood pours out and he falls to the ground. Matt's first kill. He doesn't have time to think about it. He opens the door and there is only one girl in here, Ashley. She stands up. "When I unlocked your door, I was hoping ya'll wouldn't leave without me." Matt runs up to her. "Do you know where Amy sleeps?" Ashley pauses. "She shares this room with me, but... Negan summoned her tonight." Matt freezes. His face gets filled with anger. "Go find the panel they went through, I'll catch up." He storms off towards Negan's room. Ashley calls out to him but he ignores her. The speakers come to life, blasting music loudly. Lucas has done his part. As he runs, he sees the armory. Someone left it unlocked. He picks up two handguns and pulls an AK rifle over his shoulder. He eventually arrives at Negan's door. He takes a deep breath then pushed it open. He looks at Negan's bed and Amy lays there alone, barely any clothing. "Matt?" He runs up to her and hugs her tightly. "Oh my god. I am so sorry." She wraps her arms around his neck. "It's not your fault it's okay." Matt let's go. "Where is he?" Amy stands up and finds a shirt Negan had in his room. She puts it on, and puts on some pants. "He went to use the restroom, we gotta hurry." Matt nods. "We found a way out, it's time for our escape." The bedroom door slams. "Well shit. Hello, kid." Matt draws his handgun and points it at Negan.

"Don't take another step. You got no weapon. Now I'm in control!" Amy stands behind Matt. Negan chuckles. "Wow, really should have put a guard on your door. That was sloppy of me. Of course I had Amy on my mind." Matt tightens his grip. "Let me let you in on something. If we're going to survive this whole thing, there needs to be order. I am that order. We are the saviors." Matt stares him down. "You're nothing more than an asshole with a Messiah complex. You will pay for it" Negan grins. "Go ahead, kill me. I know you want to." Matt's hands shake. "Kill me!" Negan yells. Matt shakes his head. "No. You will suffer though." He lowers his gun and shoots both his legs, causing him to drop to the floor, yelling in pain. Matt directs Amy towards the door. "Don't ever let me see you again, Negan. Or else.". Matt and Amy walk away. As they do so they can hear him cursing. The two of them run up to the panel and lift it up, crawling through. They are now outside, and there stands their group.

"Good, you're here. I was starting to worry." Brad says. The music continues to play loudly as walkers pour all over the compound. The moon is almost full as gunfire rings out from saviors trying to save their home. "Alright everyone, we need a way through this herd." Haley steps forward. "Actually I already have an idea. We can cut open the walkers and rub their guts on us, smell like them." Jacob turns to her. "Are you fucking crazy?" Haley frowns. "It works, trust me!" As walkers approach, they take them down and cut them open. "Ashley, let me help." Lucas smears guts on her back. Matt does the same for Amy. Ashley sees a gun lying on the ground and picks it up. That reminds Matt, he hands Lucas the AK and Brad one of the handguns. After a few minutes, they are all covered. "This is too gross, dad." Tanner says to his father. "It's okay, son. It'll all be over soon." Mike stares into the herd. "Man, this won't work." Lucas grabs his shoulder. "Hey, we'll make it through this." Haley nods. "Alright, everybody start moving. SLOWLY." They all begin slowly moving into the herd, walking as if they were walkers themselves. Matt walks close to Amy, Willis holds Tanner's hand. Lucas is in front along with Ashley. Walking among the rotten faces are unsettling. Matt fears the day he becomes one of them. Suddenly, a shout comes from the compound, from the spot they started. "Fire into the herd!" It's Simon's voice. Gunfire rains all over the herd. Walkers drop all around. Lucas whispers. "Keep moving like them, those shots probably won't hit us." They continue walking at a slow pace. Willis whispers. "I think that we ca-" a bullet flies through his head. His hand falls from Tanner's. Matt's eyes widen. Willis hands fumble forward as he stumbles. "DAD!" Tanner yells. Walkers leap into Willis and tear him apart.

"Shit!" Brad yells. The group opens fire, those who have guns at least. Matt turns to face Amy but doesn't see her. In fact he can't see anybody. Walkers move towards him, so he points his gun and fires all around him. He then hears a woman scream for help. He runs towards it and sees Tracy. A walker jumps out and bites her arm. She screams, and Matt stops in his tracks. Tracy tries to run towards Matt, but a walker grabs her head and pulls her. Three walkers are now eating her. Matt can't do anything but watch helplessly. He sees Lucas in the distance, but is still fighting off walkers. Then, Amy runs into him. He nods, and the two of them start running. They bump into Alyssa and Haley, also running. "Oh thank god." Alyssa says. The four of them run out of the end of the herd and into the trees. The rest of the group is nowhere to be seen, if they are even still alive.


	12. Chapter 12

_Unfortunately, this chapter's file became corrupted during writing. It was a bit to extensive to rewrite so I figured I'd give a brief summary of what happened instead._

 _Matt, Amy, Alyssa, and Haley walked through the woods in search of their friends. The group recalls the events of the escape and remembers those that were lost during which. They eventually stumble across a state park to which waits Jacob, Ashley, Brad, and Tanner. They discuss a plan and decide they need to find Lucas and Mike, the brothers who haven't been seen for some time. Matt volunteers to go along with Brad and the two of them head off to find them. That's where chapter 13 picks up._


	13. Chapter 13: Lie Dead

Matt and Brad stepped on dead leaves as they combed the woods looking for Lucas and Mike. They've been searching for almost an hour. "So how you been man? We have had much chance to talk. I know we lost Tracy back there, I know you two were friends." Matt asks in an attempt to start conversation. "I'm tired, man. Real tired. I'm just the kinda guy who needs a plan, I need to know what I'm going to be doing." Matt smiles. "You were like that in school. Remember when we wanted to play hooky, and you bailed because we didn't "have a plan" Brad chuckles. "You were just an amateur! I used to ditch all the time and no one ever knew!" Matt shoots him a look. "Yeah, until you took your girlfriend with you and she got you caught. Who was the amateur then?" They both laugh. Then silence fills the air. "You ever think of how life used to be?" Asks Matt. "Everyday. But you can't let it hold you back." Matt nods. "I miss my parents, my little sister." Brad shakes his head. "Can't think about them." They continue walking. They stop in front of a fairground. There is a ferris wheel and many booths set up. Walkers can be seen roaming all around.

"We should check around here, they can be hiding." Brad agrees and they keep walking. They both are carrying rifles but have their knives at the ready. The entrance of the fairground is blocked off by cars. "We have to go around, come on." They go around the fence and they see an opening. They pull out their knives are squeeze through. As soon as they get in, a walker turns to face them. It slowly lifts it's head and snarls. "Holy shit." It's Mike. Or not him anymore. Head seems lose, probably broke his neck. "Oh my god. God damn it!" Matt yells. Mike's walker approaches them snarling loudly. "I got him." Matt says pointing out his knife. He runs up and stabs him in the head violently. The body drops and he turns to face Brad. "We can't keep losing people, Brad…" Brad nods, and they hesitantly continue. They come across a few more walkers while traversing through the fairgrounds, nothing they can't handle. As they walk on they see a group of walkers surrounding a ticket booth. "Let's take em' out". They get to work slashing at the walkers and clear the area.

"Hello?" A voice comes from the booth. "Lucas?" The door busts open. "Matt, Brad, thank god!" He jumps up. "I am definitely in your debt. You seen Mike? He was gonna circle back around and help me but I'm guessing he got cut off." There is a long pause. "Yeah, I saw him. He's dead, man." Lucas stares at the ground. "What, no...He can't be." He drops to his knees and begins to tear up. "Oh, I'm sorry brother. I'm so sorry!" Matt tries to comfort him but then he stands up. He wipes away his tears. "We gotta go." Matt nods. "We know where the others are. Come on." They head back off to the park.


	14. Chapter 14: A Safe Place

Matt and Brad arrive back at the park and see the group sitting on benches. They approach them and allow Lucas to step forward. "Hey guys." Ashley slowly walks up to him then tightly wraps her arms around him. He stands wide eyed before wrapping his arms around her as well. "Wait, where's Mike?" asks Alyssa. Lucas steps back. His silence says enough. "Lucas, I'm so sorry." Ashley says preparing to give another hug before he puts his hand out. Matt crosses his arms for warmth. It's getting colder. He looks past the reunion and sees Tanner sitting with his face in his legs. "Hey, you alright over there buddy?" No answer. He looks at Ashley, to which she shakes her head no with a concerned look. "Alright y'all, we need to have a conversation about this incoming baby." Jacob speaks out. "Oh yeah? About what?" Alyssa asks with an attitude. "Don't worry, nothing bad. We just need to discuss where we're gonna go next. This park is to open, not safe enough to have a child." Haley stands up. "He's right, but I have an idea." She points into the woods. "We should travel through the trees." Brad crosses his arms. "We don't know where we're going, we'd get lost in there." Haley shakes her head. "I know the way through, I can lead us." Brad raises a brow. "Wanna explain how?" She doesn't answer. "Well alright then." Ashley walks in the middle of the group. "We don't need the trees." She points her arms out in both directions. "There are two trails. One leading left and one right. If we split up, we can cover both trails at the same time, and since they can't go too far, we can regroup back here." The group seems supportive of the idea, all but Haley.

"Alright, we need some volunteers to go left." Ashley, Jacob, and Lucas raise their hands. "Okay, I guess that leaves Matt, Amy, and Haley to go right. Since Tanner and Alyssa are in no position to travel I'll stay here and watch over them. Let's all meet here in two hours." Everyone nods in agreeance and walks down their chosen paths. Haley storms down the path with Matt following and Amy following him. "This is bullshit, my idea was much safer." Matt speeds up to follow her pace. "Why does it matter so much to you?" She doesn't answer again. "Alright then." They walk for about an hour and just when they start to give up hope they stumble across a building. "There." Haley points out. "What is it?" Amy asks. "It looks like a storage garage, definitely not a place to have a baby, but might be some useful things here." Matt opens up the garage and they start searching. While doing so, Matt notices a walkie-talkie attached to Haley's belt. "What's the talkie for?" She puts her hand on it protectively. "It's...just something from my past. It doesn't work anymore but...I just need it, okay?" Matt finds it best to just drop the subject. Amy approaches him with something in her hand.

"Check this out." She opens up her hand, revealing a CD. "Looks old, even for the apocalypse. Matt takes a look at it. "Louis Armstrong's greatest hits? Damn right that's old." Amy chuckles. "Think I'll keep it, I'm hopeful we'll get to hear music again." Matt remembers that night in the cabin that seemed like forever ago. "If I recall correctly, don't you do a little singing?" She grins. "Piano mostly, singing is just for accompaniment." After more thorough searching they close the garage and head back on down the trail. After almost an hour walk back, they see Brad, Alyssa, and Tanner still waiting by the benches. Alyssa is panting. "Hey, you guys made it back." Brad proclaims, jumping up to greet them. "Hey man. How's Alyssa doing?" He turns back around to face her. "It's getting close, maybe even tonight." Matt drops his jaw. "Tonight!? How could we not pick up on that sooner?!" Brad turns back towards Matt. "Hey, it's been awhile since we've even seen a baby. We don't know what signs to look for other than water breaking. WHICH happened hours ago." Matt rubs his head nervously. "The others aren't back yet?" Brad shakes his head. "No. Might not be a bad idea for you to head down their trail and see if you can find them. We all need to be here, plus they might be in trouble." Matt thinks and then nods. "Alright, I'll be back soon everyone." Matt begins down the other trail. He walks for about thirty minutes before stumbling upon another building. He steps in front of the open door and quietly calls in. "Guys?" He hears the shuffling of feet. "Matt, come on in."

He enters into the building and sees Ashley, Jacob, and Lucas still scavenging. "Sorry for the hold up, there were some walkers." Matt takes in the sight of the dispatched walkers laid on the ground. "We're pretty much ready to go, just need-" Lucas gets cut off by Ashley gasping. She turns around holding a hoodie. "I LOVE this." She holds it in front of herself and poses. "How do I look?" The men just stare at her like she's crazy. "We're looking for survival supplies and you're picking up hoodie?" Jacob says chuckling. "I really like it! The black pattern looks super cool!" Lucas and Matt look at each other grinning. "Alright, put it back." Ashley frowns. "Pleeeease." Lucas stares hesitantly. "Fine." She throws it at him. "Thanks so much! You can carry it." Everyone has a laugh at Lucas's expense before beginning their trip back to the park.


	15. Chapter 15: Fresh Struggle

After walking for quite a while, Matt, Lucas, Jacob, and Ashley were almost back at the park. "Did you guys manage to find someplace safe?" Asks Lucas. "No, we were hoping you guys did." He sighs. "I don't know what we're gonna do. I mean-" he gets cut off by a distant woman's scream. "Shit, let's go!" They sprint full speed and run into the clearing leading to the park. They see everyone surrounding Alyssa. "Brad! What's going on?" Brad jumps up. "Thank god, you guys showed up at the perfect time. We think it's time, it's happening." Alyssa is lying on the ground yelling. "Oh my god…" Lucas says. "Here!" Ashley lays down a blanket. Brad sits beside her and allows her to grab his hand. "Uh, guys!" Amy yells out pointing to the trees. Erupting from the trees are about a dozen walkers. "Shit!" Jacob and Lucas run out in front of everyone with their guns and open fire on the walkers. "Don't worry about the noise, just protect Alyssa and the baby!" Lucas yells out. "Matt, go help Lucas!" Matt nods at Brad and draws his gun. He stands in line with the other two and opens fire. Ashley joins the line and opens fire as well. "Haley, here!" Brad hands Haley his rifle, allowing her to join the firing lane. One by one walkers are mowed down, but the sound from the guns coupled with the sound of Alyssa screaming keeps drawing them. "Shit! They're getting closer! Get back!" Walkers begin to circle around them. "Fuck, god damn it! Circle around Alyssa!" They spread out to circle around the benches, firing on any walkers they see. One leaps towards Tanner, still sitting on the ground. "Tanner!" Amy jumps forward and picks up Tanner, getting him out of the way. Matt turns around and shoots it. Amy sets Tanner down, still holding his hand.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Tanner nods his head frantically. "Yes. I want my dad!" Amy turns to Matt and they exchange a concerned look. Matt's eyes widen. "Look out!" Two walkers jump from both sides, biting into Tanner. Drilling screams erupt from him as he's dragged to the ground, Amy still holding on to him. She screams as well. Lucas turns around. "Tanner! Noooo!" Matt grabs Amy's arm and pulls her away. He yanks her to the side and shoots the walkers and Tanner in the head, putting him out of his misery. "He's gone. Focus on the walkers." The fight to fend them off continues for a few more minutes. Eventually the yelling from Alyssa abruptly stops. Shortly after, the seemingly last walker drops. "Brad, what's going on over there?" Matt turns around. "A baby...has been born." Everyone turns around. Brad stands up, lifting the newborn up for everyone to see, the moonlight shining on it's face. Alyssa lays flat on her back but conscious, panting, tears rolling down her face. All circle around to get a glimpse at the baby. Brad gets on one knee and holds the boy near his mother's face. "So...what's the name of the young man?" She smiles, closing her eyes. "Welcome to the family, Beck."

The sun rises as the baby cries, as he has done most of the night. The group lays on the grass, one at a time taking look-out shift. Matt sits up next to Amy and takes a glimpse at the child. The sight of him being held by his mother brings a smile to his face. "You're up. Sleep well?" Lucas says taking a seat on the ground next to him. "Well enough. You were on look-out?" He nods. He turns to look at the baby with Matt, both sit smiling. "This wasn't just a win for her, or us, or that baby. This was a win for humanity. We've proven there is still hope, which is something we've desperately needed." Matt nods. "Morning boys." Alyssa says, finally acknowledging their staring. "How ya doing, Alyssa?" Lucas asks. "Tired, very tired." Lucas walks over to her. "You look a little pale. You sure you're alright?" She looks at her baby. "I'm perfect." About an hour later everyone is awake. After a long discussion, the decision was made to go through the trees like Haley originally wanted. Trees provide good cover so they can take breaks when Alyssa needs to sit down. After more time spent preparing, the group heads off into the treeline. They travel for two hours, taking multiple breaks in the process. Eventually they enter a clear field.

"Well we're out of the trees." Brad states, on high alert. They continue moving across the field with their sightlines trained on all directions. They take yet another break, laying on the grass resting their tired legs. Then, whistling can be heard from all around. The group frantically looks all around, but it's too late. At least a dozen men surround them with guns drawn. They continue whistling until they are closed in. One man stands in front of the others, and he looks familiar. "Hello again, ladies and gentlemen." He smiles a cocky smile. Lucas points his gun at him. "Simon...The saviors came for us after all." Simon chuckles. "Well you didn't think we'd just let you all go! Well, especially not after your boy here put two rounds into the boss man's legs. Still recovering by the way, thank you!" Matt stares at him with a cold look. Simon darts his eyes to the right. "Oh my...the baby! What a beautiful boy." Ashley stands holding him close to her chest. "Now! Are you all gonna come back, or do we need to kill you? Obviously we'll need to kill one of you here and Negan will pick one of you to kill when we get back, but that's to make a point." Brad yells out. "You fuckers! Leave us the hell alone or you will regret it, I promise!" Minutes go by of pointless negotiating Then, out of the blue, one of the saviors yells out. Everyone turns to face the yelling to take in a horrible sight. The man having his throat bit into by a walker. A fresh fragile walker. Alyssa. "Kill the dead one!" Simon yells, as his people open fire on Alyssa's walker. Brad takes that opportunity to fire back, causing everyone to start firing.

Brad: Eat this you fucks!

Lucas: NO! Alyssa, god no!

Ashley: Watch out, the baby!

Jacob: Ah! Get down!

Amy: Matt!


	16. Chapter 16: Nowhere To Go

Shots rang throughout the empty field.

Brad: Eat this you fucks!

Lucas: NO! Alyssa, god no!

Ashley: Watch out, the baby!

Jacob: Ah! Look out!

Amy: Matt!

Many saviors lay dead on the ground due to being caught off guard. Brad sits behind a very short tree stump. "You asked for this, you sons of bitches!" He continuously lifts his hand up into the air to fire randomly in their direction. Matt is on the ground trying to survey the situation. He hears the sound of a bullet hit something hollow. "Ah, I'm hit! God!" Jacob was shot. Then, someone drops next to him. "Matt! We gotta do something!" It's Lucas. "What're we gonna do!?" Lucas can hardly focus on Matt's question. "Matt!" He hears call out from the distance. "Amy! I'm coming!" He quickly jumps up and runs towards the noise, firing as he runs. He sees Ashley laying on the ground holding the baby. Jacob laying down holding his leg, that must've been where he was shot. Alyssa's corpse. Only three saviors remain, including Simon. He plants himself on the ground near Amy. "Are you okay!" He frantically reaches his hand out into the field. Eventually he feels her hand and grabs it. "I'm okay!" Matt crawls over to her. "Okay, we have to crawl over by near Brad, he's laying down the fire." She nods and they begin moving. Before they reach Brad, one of the men run up and trip over Amy's leg. He turns around and points his gun at her head. "Hey bitch!" Matt jumps up. "No!" He punches him dead center in the nose. He could feel it break as his fist made contact. As the man steps back holding his nose Brad shoots, killing him. "Run over here you two!" The two of them run, drawing another guy out. A chain of bullets erupt from the ground killing the second man. Lucas had fired his gun. Simon fired his gun panicked. "You bunch of fuckers!" He calls out before retreating into the trees. A minute or two of silence goes by before someone breaks it.

"We're coming out." Brad, Matt, and Amy stand up. As do Ashley, Lucas, and Haley. Lucas walks over to Jacob helping him up. "I think the bullet went through, I'll just be having a hard time walking now." After checking out his leg Lucas, Brad, and Matt approach Alyssa's body. "She just...was too weak. That birth was too much stress for her body to handle. But in the end...she was proud of her boy." Lucas says fighting back tears. Brad stomps his foot. "God damn it!" The baby is crying from all the gunfire. Ashley tries her best to comfort him. Matt stares at her body and comes to a cold realization. He feels sadness, but not shock. He's adjusted to death. Amy begins to tear up and he comforts her. "What now…?" Jacob asks. "We keep moving. It's all we can do." Brad responds before walking forward. Haley stands staring at the dead saviors with an angry look. "You coming, Haley?" Matt asks. She nods. "Yeah." They continue on, eventually exiting the field. They find an open trail and decide to follow it. They walk for a few hours, barely saying a word. Hoping to find somewhere to settle. "Hold on guys, I'm gimping out." Lucas sets Jacob down against a tree. Ashley pulls out something from her bag. "Let's clean your wound some more. One second everybody…" All sit down to take a breather and Amy goes to assist Ashley. Matt sits next to Lucas against a tree as he stares up into the sky.

"The past few days have been rough." Lucas states. Matt nods. Silence lasts for about what seemed an eternity. "We've been through the lot of it, haven't we Matt?" Matt chuckles. "You said it." Lucas loses his smile. "All of my old group...they're dead. I have Ashley, and you guys, and I'm thankful but...My brother...Little Beck's parents...Willis and Tanner...just everyone." Matt looks at him. "We gotta keep moving on. Life may not always seem worth living, but you gotta make it that way, or else everyone we've loved, everyone we've lost won't matter." Lucas nods. "I'm glad to have met you, Matt." He says smiling. Matt smiles back. "Glad to have met you too, Lucas." Ashley helps Jacob up. "Alright everyone, let's get moving again. We need to find a place to settle for the night." Everyone stands up and continues their tired march.


	17. Chapter 17: Uneasy Peace

After hours more of traveling aimlessly, the moon has started to rise and the sun has started to fall. Just as the cool air of the night started to wash over them, they see a small storage garage. "There, we can spend the night there." Ashley points out. The group opens up the garage and sets all their stuff down. They take a seat all around the garage and sit in silence. "There are a couple of sheds outside. A few people can sleep in here and we can have some others sleep in the sheds, just to make enough room for everyone." Matt looks over at Amy sitting next to him, she carries this tired expression on her face. "So, I was talking to Matt earlier about how much we've all been through." Lucas says, in hopes of starting conversation. "It has been an experience to remember, and I doubt it's finished. It's our jobs to make sure all of us live to tell the tale." Brad says in response. Everyone nods in agreeance. "It's tough to imagine how we got here. But we did, all of us are here because we are survivors." Lucas adds. He looks down. "Right before this all started, I was skiing with my girlfriend and she got attacked by, what I thought at the time, was a crazy man. She was wounded so I took her to the hospital, and to my amazement everyone had the same idea about their loved ones. All the patients, including her, turned. That hospital was a fight to survive." Lucas says looking down. The room is quiet before someone else picks up. "I was visiting my mom when everything started. There were people running on the streets, screaming, it was nightmarish. So I got my mom in the car and drove. I didn't know where to, just drove. Maybe to find my brother. However, traffic was bad. I had to stop the car and just then one of those things busted through the window. My mom panicked and ran out of the car, she was ripped apart right in front of me. I hightailed it out of there." Jacob finishes. Brad looks at Matt and he nods.

"Matt and I, we were camping with our friend Greg. I got woken up by screams coming from their tent. I jumped out of mine and the look on Matt's face was pure horror. We got jumped by two more of those things and I got cut off from him. At least we found each other again." Matt shrugs. "You're still the same asshole as back then." The whole group laughs. Amy clears her throat. "I was walking the city with my family. A few walkers came from around the corner chasing people. My dad grabbed my sister's and my arm and ran. I was the only one to survive that night. A couple weeks later I met this man. He took care of me. He taught me how to hunt, basic defense, how to handle a gun. However, he got bit and told me to put him down after he passed. I was too scared and once he died, I ran. I've always regretted that." Matt recalls her briefly mentioning this a while back. Haley tells her story but Matt zones out. He starts to doze off when Lucas claps his hands. "Alright, we should probably all get to sleep. Three of us can sleep in the two sheds outside, the rest can sleep in here. Who wants to volunteer for the sheds?" Haley jumps at the offer and heads outside. "I will" Matt says once he realizes no one else plans on volunteering. "I will too." Amy says smiling. Matt hesitates. "So you wanna share a shed with Haley?" She shakes her head. "I'll stay in yours. You're more talkative." Matt slowly nods and they say their goodnights. Matt closes the shed door that has barely enough room for two people to sleep. They set down anything they could find to pass as a blanket and lay down.

"I wanted to thank you, Matt." He looks at her, using his hand to rest his head. "For?" She looks at him as well. "For keeping me alive. If I hadn't met you, I'd be dead. You said you'd keep me alive. You kept your promise." Matt shrugs. "It was nothing." Amy shakes her head. "It wasn't nothing, not at all, and I promise not to lose you either. Not like the man I was with before. We're gonna keep each other alive, you and I." Matt grins. "Sounds like a plan." Silence fills the air. However, the silence does not last. Amy slides over and kisses Matt on the check. Matt places his hand where the kiss landed and takes in what had just happened. He looks at her and she is just smiling. He decides to go for it, and kisses her back. It soon lead to more than just kissing. They spent that night together.

The birds chirped as the morning sun rose. A loud banging erupts against the metal shed door. Matt stands up and opens it to see Lucas. "Wake up, time to move." Matt sees the loud banging wasn't enough to wake Amy. He kneels beside her and whispers. "Hey, wake up." She opens her eyes and smiles upon the sight of him. They pack their things and meet the others back outside.


	18. Chapter 18: A Shot In The Dark

The group continues their march aimlessly going in the same direction. Jacob is limping but able to walk on his own. It's progress. The moon is starting to rise again, and the group is exhausted but there is nowhere in sight to settle down. They may have to pull an all-nighter. They approach a big hill and have no alternative but to walk over it. Once they go over the hill a massive hoard of the undead is visible.

"Shit, how we gonna get through that?" Jacob asks. Lucas surveys the situation. "I got it, we can divide them. Have half of us go left up the hill, the other half goes right. Both sides make noise drawing the walkers away from the middle. I will walk up the middle and clear out any stragglers and we'll all meet at the top of the hill to dispatch the rest." Everyone seems to agree this is the best plan available. Matt, Amy, and Brad go right. Ashley, Haley, and Jacob go left. Lucas waits for them to draw the walkers to the sides before heading up the center. They all do just that. Walkers begin moving towards both sides and get close enough for them to be taken out. Lucas draws his knife and walks up the middle, slashing at any remaining walkers. The crowds going to the sides begin to lose interest and head back towards Lucas. "Guys, make more noise, they're coming back to me." They all increase their volume level but the walkers seem intent in their direction. "Okay, try-" a bolt from the blue. In an instant, a single shot shakes the group. Matt is confused, he focuses on the center of the hill near Lucas and sees him standing there, but something is wrong. He seems non-responsive. "Lucas!" Ashley yells out. Then, Matt sees it. Red. Lucas' face is red. He slowly falls onto his knees and faceplants. He is dead. He was shot through the head. "No! FUCK!" Matt screams.

"Open fire!" Brad yells as the group starts mowing down the walkers. Eventually they are all taken care of and everyone runs to the top of the hill. "What the FUCK happened!" Brad asks. Ashley runs down to his lifeless body and holds him. She begins crying. "Ashley, god I am so sorry!" Matt says trying to grasp the situation. He takes a look at the head to see where the bullet entry point but his head was so messed up he couldn't tell. "There is no one else around, and that wasn't a sniper shot...one of us shot him." Matt deducts. Ashley covers her mouth as if to stop herself from throwing up. "Jesus christ…" Jacob says holding his leg. Brad points up the hill. "Let's get up there first, we'll figure everything out." The group says their farewells to Lucas and walk up the hill. Amy is comforting Ashley as they go. When they reach the top of the hill something is visible, seems like a diner. They go down the other end of the hill and enter the diner.

Brad is pacing, Ashley is sobbing, Jacob is still holding his leg, and Matt is deep in thought. Haley is holding the baby, trying to comfort it from the previous gunshots that disturbed him. "Now, we gotta figure out who the hell shot him!" Brad says stomping his foot. "How do you know it was any of us?" Jacob inquires. "Did you see anyone else around? That shot was the sound of a handgun and they don't have that big a range. Someone close shot him, that means us." Matt stands up. "Brad's right, and we gotta figure out who did this. It obviously wasn't Ashley, and certainly not Amy." Brad looks at him. "Oh? Why NOT Amy?" Matt shrugs. "It doesn't matter...Lucas is dead, we need to move on." Ashley says, finding the strength to stand up. Brad thinks momentarily. "This is important, but it will have to wait a little bit till we figure out our next move. At night, we'll hold a trial." Haley doesn't even seemed focused on the conversation, just soothing the baby. After scavenging the diner and finding food, they all try to fall asleep, to practically no avail. After such a tragic day, Matt is finally dozing off to sleep knowing that in just a few hours they will be holding a trial. He's eager to discover who did it. What's the punishment for killing another member, another part of the family? Death? Exile? Just as Matt starts to drift away he hears someone walking in the grass outside. He listens as the footsteps get quieter and quieter. They're walking away. He grabs his handgun and slowly opens the back door. He sees someone, a man, walking away holding a bag. Then Matt realizes, the food is gone. He closes the door and points his gun at the man. "Hey! Turn around!" The man stops limping and slowly turns to face him. The rising sun reveals his face clearly. "Jacob?"

Jacob walks slowly. "Matt, please let me leave." Matt raises his voice. "With our food!?" Jacob stands quietly for a moment before answering. "There's a killer in this group, not to mention the group is slowly falling apart person by person. I figure my best chance for survival is to get out of here. I justified that this was survival of the fittest and that taking this food was the right call. I think it still is." Matt shakes his head. "We're a group. A family. You're robbing us!?" Jacob's eyes widen. "Keep it down, please!" Matt runs the scenario through his head. He has the power to shoot and take the food back, but the second he shoots a person he's worked so closely with is the same second he starts to lose his humanity. "Alright Jacob, here's what-" A shot breaks the eeriness. This is different though. Matt places his hand on his chest, blood pours out. He has been shot from behind. "No!" Jacob yells out. It doesn't take long for the rest of the group to come running out, and at the sight of that Jacob runs away. Matt feels his consciousness fading away. He hears panicked voices all around him. Then blackness.


	19. Chapter 19: Like Puzzle Pieces

His eyes feel heavy. It takes a lot of strength to open them. He's moving. Where is he? He slowly leans up to be greeting by Amy staring at him. "He's up!" They're in a car. Where'd they find a car? Brad is driving. "Jesus christ. You really gave us a scare back there pal." Matt feels for his wound but it's been bandaged. "I can't believe Jacob did that." Ashley says. "Well we never thought he'd kill and injure one of us either." Matt groans before speaking. "I don't think Jacob shot me. The impact, it felt like it came from behind me." Still air fills the car. If the shot came from behind, than that means whoever did it was still with them, and in that car. "This shit is screwed." Haley says. "We'll talk more about this later. I gotta focus on the road." Amy hugs Matt as if to ask him if he's alright. He nods. They drive for a while longer before they come to a sudden stop.

"What's up?" Ashley asks. "Walkers, a lot of them." Matt sits up and looks out the front window to see a large group of them. "Well, try going around." Just as he says that, a walker pounds on the window next to Ashley and the baby almost breaking it instantly. "Shit!" The baby starts crying. A walker reaches the hood of the car, crawling towards the driver's seat. "Everyone get out!" Brad and Haley get out of the driver and passenger doors. Matt, Amy, and Ashley holding the baby get out of Matt's door. Matt draws his gun quickly which causes him to flinch from pain. Amy gently grabs his hand and takes the gun from him. "You're hurt, let me do it." Matt starts forming the words to debate however finds himself too tired to disagree. They slowly move, unable to spot Brad and Haley. They must have been routed off. Just before she can speak, a walker lunges for Ashley and the baby. Amy goes to fire but receives no more than a click. Out of bullets. Another walker goes after her. "Run, Ashley! We'll find you!" Matt yells. Ashley nods, holding the baby close to her chest while running off. Matt ushers Amy to the side of the road and they run off. "We gotta find Brad and Haley." Matt says observing the area. "Well they ran left." Matt nods and they go in said direction. Matt and Amy tirelessly search the area until they stumble upon a gas station. "Let's check there." Matt says.

They slowly approach the building before the door busts open with two bodies flying out. "Die you FUCK." Brad and Haley roll on the ground trying to strangle each other. "Brad, Haley, the fuck is going on!" Haley pushes Brad off him and quickly stands up. "He's the killer! He told me in the gas station and attacked me!" Brad stands up and points his gun at her head. "Shut up you lying bitch. She told me SHE was the killer and drew on me. I'm holding her gun right now." Haley clenches her teeth. "You took that from me to KILL ME." Matt stands in utter confusion. He looks at Brad and he looks at him back. They look into each other's eye. While doing that, Haley leaps at him, knocking him to the ground. He drops the gun. They start attacking each other again on the ground, punching and scratching. Matt runs up to them and tries to physically separate them but finds his strength at a minimum. The struggle almost knocks him on the ground along with them. "Both of you, stand up!" All three look at the source of the voice and see Amy holding Brad's dropped gun. Matt backs up as Brad and Haley slowly stand back up. Amy is shaking just pointing the gun at her fellow group members. Her shaking intensifies causing Matt to worry about her possible action. He walks back over to her and gently takes the gun from her hand, holding it back up at Brad and Haley.

"One of you is the killer, and killers can't live." Silence fills the air. There is an eery stillness. Brad and Haley don't blink, not once. They just stare down the gun. Matt fires. The shot enters Haley's skull and she drops to the ground quick. Matt slowly lowers the gun staring at the aftermath of his shot. "Thank you man, I swear you won't regret it." Matt shakes his head. "I've known you for years man, you'd never shoot me in the back. Literally." Amy places her hand on Matt's shoulder and leans into his ear. "We're alright." He drops his gun unwillingly. "We should check her for supplies." Brad says kneeling beside the body. "Anything?" Matt inquires. "All she had was her knife and this walkie-talkie." Matt remembers him asking her about that. Then, his brain snaps, as if a massive puzzle had just come together. He remembers back to the park. She was so defensive about that walkie-talkie, but who did it communicate with? She wanted to go down the path through the trees for a reason, which later lead them to be ambushed by saviors. As they left the aftermath of that shootout she had anger on her face.

"It was her. She was communicating with the saviors with that walkie, which is why she wanted us to take that path. Maybe she was trying to get back to the savior compound and bringing us back would bring her higher in the ranks. Once we won the fight she probably figured her best bet would be to pick us off one by one whenever one of us was divided. Like Lucas on the hill, me out the back of the diner, and you just now." Brad scoffs. "Damn Sherlock, makes sense to me." Amy sighs. "We should find Ashley." Matt nods. "Alright, let's go you two." The three of them walk into plains with a heavy weight lifted off their shoulders.


	20. Final Chapter

"So it was all her. She killed Lucas?" Ashley questions barely holding back her anger. "It was her, but she got her punishment, now it's just us." Ashley looked down at the baby she's holding. "But we lost so many people, pardon my negativity, but how do we know we'll make it?" Amy looks to Matt as if she's asking the same question. "Because we made it THIS far. All of us, here right now, we made it for a reason. All the people we lost so far died getting us here. This feels like a new start. We owe it to them to push on and we WILL live." Ashley can't hide her smile as she nods, comforting the baby. Brad crosses his arms and nods, smiling as well, and Matt nods back. Amy walks up to Matt and just looks at him with the biggest smile he had seen on her face since they sat in that cabin. Brad has come out of this journey with a lot more confidence than how he was before the end of the world. Ashley was broken after Lucas, but has proven to still want to fight. Matt, he knows his place. He will lead these people, taking the torch from Lucas who had always had a leadership personality. "Now, let's see where we end up." He says grinning. They hop back into the car. Not knowing where they'll go next. "Destination?" Brad asks, looking back at Matt. "Foward. Always forward."

 **Forever in our memory…**

 **Frank**

 **Beck**

 **Willis**

 **Tracy**

 **Mike**

 **Tanner**

 **Alyssa**

 **Lucas**

 **Haley…**

 **To be continued**


End file.
